


Slide Fast

by Asmicarus



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Sports, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 14:00:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7055368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asmicarus/pseuds/Asmicarus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bobsledder Eren Jaeger finds himself falling head over heels for bob- skeleton rider, Levi Ackerman, quite literally!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Slide Fast

**Author's Note:**

> : So I’m just taking a break in-between my other story ‘Dignity of a Soldier’. This is a fun little Ereri short about the Winter Olympics since I love the skeleton event and the bobsleigh. Sorry if it seems rushed, it was only something for fun. I should be able to update my other stories soon but my medical situation delays things so please be patient with me! :D This is extreme fluff and happy endings! No characters are mine! 
> 
> Bob Skeleton: a sliding sport that involves going head first down an ice chute on a small sledge.
> 
> Bobsleigh: sliding sport that can involve four or two people pushing a large sledge down an ice chute.

Eren couldn’t quite believe he was actually here. Excitement brimmed at the surface of his already fairly hyperactive personality. His keen green eyes scanned the gorgeously clean ice of the brand new sliding centre. It was bathed in floodlights, making the ice track glisten in the darkness of the night. The cold nipped at his nose and ears and his breaths came out in puffs that were visible in the chilly air. He was actually here- he was actually competing in the winter Olympics for Shiganshina. A slap on the back brought him back to reality.  
“So, here we are,” Jean, (who had just ruined a perfectly good daydream), was dressed ridiculously. His eyes were only barely visible through the scarf and hat him mother knitted for him. Well, the less of his face Eren could see the better.   
“Yeah, I’m going to be hurtling down that track at ninety-five miles per hour stuck in a bobsleigh with you,” that was a painful fact Eren had to live with. 

Eren was competing in the four-man bobsleigh with his team of loveable idiots. He’d never tell anyone but Jean was actually growing on him as a friend and teammate. Eren was proud to pilot the sled so eloquently named ‘The Titan’ by the team. Armin and Connie sat in the centre position of the sleigh to push it and Jean acted as the break man. Many a disagreement with his break man led to the originally two-man team becoming a four-man team just so there was a two-person buffer between Eren and Jean. They get along quite well now with the introduction of Armin and Connie. Despite this fact Eren wouldn’t change his team for the world. They had been through so much together these winter Olympics were just a stepping stone… and also hopefully a break from the constant ‘Cool Runnings’ jokes that seemed to ever- present at practice.

This was their first winter Olympics and Eren was simultaneously dreading and looking forward to it. They were going up against the infamous team from the Northern District. Their team was built of dynamic sprinters, Reiner and Berthold as pushers and now due to changes in regulations two new female riders, Ymir and Annie, as pilot and break man. Their sleigh, ‘The Colossal’ was a new carbon fibre sled that Eren drooled over for a good five minutes. It was light, fast, and efficient. Every slider’s dream. Their competition was fierce, but Eren was ready.  
“It’s a fast track,” Mikasa leaned on the railing next to Jean and Eren. She was competing in the women’s luge event later in the games. The media was all over her natural talent and cool personality calling her ‘Shiganshina’s Hope’. She had tried the track already in her practice run.   
“A fast one?” Jean smirked, obviously itching to get onto the ice.   
“It is, watch out for turn twelve though, it’s a rough one. This cold is also getting to me, there’s a great winter market a few minutes away. Connie are Armin are waiting for us there.” 

Trost was a beautiful town. It was snow covered and had that comfortingly cold chocolate box feel about it. Armin and Connie greeted Eren and Jean with Styrofoam cups of hot chocolate from a vendor.   
“Sasha got me a discount on these babies. Ah, guys, I’m in love!” Connie, who hadn’t even been here twenty-four hours, had taken to a sweet vending girl who sponsored the curling at the games. This prompted them to flirt by exchanging free food and invitations to races. Not that Eren was complaining of course. Every food tastes better when its free.   
“I thought we’d need a bit of a sugar kick after the long journey,” Armin gave Eren his drink and he inhaled the rich scent and it comforted his nerves. 

It was then, after his first sip, that Jean decided he wanted to play childish games with him and steal his hat, leaving him exposed to the cold.   
“You dick! Give me my hat back!” Eren prepared himself to chase Jean down the marketplace. Bobsledders were mean sprinters and Eren knew Jean couldn’t outrun him. Just as he turned to run he was met with a solid object and the next thing he knew he was on the floor and his drink was gone, knocked out of his hand. When Eren came to his senses he only managed to register Armin’s shocked face and the marketplace at a standstill. He didn’t just fall on the ground did he? There was definitely something under him… oh crap…

As Eren looked down his eyes met grey eyes that were dangerously narrowed in his direction. Dark hair was splayed across the contrasting white snow. The man’s jacket had a dark stain across the chest, that must be where his drink went. Oh, there was a name across his jacket. Ackerman. It was only then when Eren registered he had just knocked over Levi Ackerman.The levi Ackerman. Levi was a legendary bobsledder who had it all: Natural talent, great coaching, looks, he was literally a perfect athlete. Eren had trained hearing about this guy. That was before he suddenly transferred to the bob- skeleton event for some reason or other. Oh dear, Eren must have been gawking for far too long.  
“Get. Off. Me. Now,” the voice commanded and Eren scuttled to his feet, the situation looking comical.  
“O- oh, I’m so sorry! I- I didn’t mean- “   
“Look. Just watch where you’re going next time,” He looked down at his stained jacket in disgust.  
“and expect a dry cleaning bill from me,” Levi stood up and brushed himself off. Wow, he was shorter than he looked on TV. Eren held out a hand in greeting.   
“I’m Eren, team Shiganshina bobsleigh,” Levi eyed the hand wearily before taking it firmly.  
“Levi Ackerman, skeleton,” and with that he abruptly turned to leave.

Just as Eren thought he was in the clear another figure bounded up to him excitably.  
“Oh, Levi! He’s a cutie! Hi, I’m Hanji and I work on aerodynamics and engineering, nice to meet you!” Levi barked another order at the woman and in the blink of an eye she was gone too. Eren, still slightly perplexed, turned back to Jean, Armin, Connie and Mikasa.   
“Trust you to just flatten an absolute bobsleigh legend,” Jean spoke, jaw hanging open in shock.  
“If he was such a legend why did he switch so suddenly?” Connie asked, staring after Levi. 

Sasha, (who eavesdropped on the whole conversation), leaned forward on her elbows from her wooden stall, her face shocked.  
“You really don’t know?” all of the athletes shook their heads. Sasha made the sign of a cross over her chest. The air amongst the small group became suddenly tense.   
“He had an accident,” Sasha began slowly.  
“What kind of accident?” Armin asked meekly.   
“It was two years ago. He was competing in the regional competitions when his sled hit a corner and upturned at the wrong angle. His entire team was killed, their necks snapped clean in two. Levi only survived because his head was under the bonnet of the sled. Ever since he vowed to never step back into a bobsleigh again. What’s worse is that one of his team left behind a wife and child. The child apparently asked him where his daddy went and Levi couldn’t answer. He hasn’t smiled since.” Eren was stunned to silence, knowing full well that all it took was one wrong move on his part and he could kill his entire team.

The silence settled amongst them.  
“Poor guy,” Jean whispered. Sasha smiled slightly.  
“He has the names of his team written on his skeleton sled, he kisses the bottom of it before every race as a kind of respect. I personally think he believes he should have died in that crash.” There was another brief silence before the conversation took a lighter turn. It seemed that however they talked and joked Eren’s mind lingered on the dark haired man all night until he was forced to wake early the next morning for his first trial on the track. 

Eren’s excitement was back full force as they laid eyes on their new sled. Their shiny, clean sled. A voice came over the loud speaker.  
“Team Shiganshina to the track please. Your test run is about begin.”  
Eren bobbed on the balls of his feet to keep his muscles warm before his run. He jumped into the pilot’s seat, confident for his test run. His eyes briefly scanned the viewing platform next to the start. He hoped his eyes didn’t deceive him when he saw Levi standing right there! Their eyes met and Eren smiled and nodded. Levi didn’t smile but he nodded back in acknowledgement.   
“Jaeger?” Eren did not register the voice calling his name. Eren only smiled wider at Levi and snuck a wink at the (rather attractive) man. So what if he only got the middle finger back.  
“Eren! Focus will you, we’re about to start!” Eren broke his gaze from Levi to put his goggles on and got his head in the game. 

Eren reveled in the speed of the track. His need for speed was met in this new set of straights and turns. The team reached the brake zone in 50.5 seconds. Not bad. Eren found he didn’t even care about the time, he just had this overwhelming feeling he wanted to talk to Levi again. Something about their first meeting had stuck with Eren. There was something special about Levi, and Eren wanted to know more about him. However, when he returned to the top of the track he was nowhere in sight, because he was on the ice for his test run. 

Eren watched as he went to put his skeleton board on the ice. Hanji was right beside him with his helmet and a clipboard. Levi kissed the bottom of his board before he placed it on the ice, Eren could just about make out the names. ‘Eld Jinn’, ‘Gunther Schultz’ and ‘Oluo Bozard’. The names of the team he lost. Levi readied himself when Eren quickly came up with an idea. A crazy idea. He pulled a pocket notebook from his jacket and wrote on a blank page. ‘Can I collect that dry cleaning bill over dinner?’ He turned it around for Levi to see. The man’s eyes widened ever so slightly. Eren heard Hanji laugh loudly in the background. Levi snatched the engineer’s clipboard and wrote quickly. Eren prepared for the rejection. ‘7:30pm at the ‘Ice Breaker’. Don’t be late’. Okay, Eren can handle that. 

Levi began his run in a graceful sprint before landing on his board and making himself as flat as possible. Eren was mesmerized by his sleek form on the track (yes, the skin suit wasn’t helping the imagery). Eren waited for the man at the start line and this time he wasn’t disappointed.   
“Eren Jaeger, I knew I recognized you, cheeky shit.” Levi panted from his run as he stood next to Eren and Eren mustered the biggest smile he could. Levi’s heart may or may not have jumped slightly.   
“Levi Ackerman. I am in the presence of a legend,” Eren diverted his eyes to a luge race just starting. Levi watched the race as well.  
“Don’t flatter me, idiot. I don’t sleigh,” he looked down briefly. Eren took this as a cue to drop the conversation.   
“So about dinne – “   
“Uncle Levi! Look at my tongue!” Eren was interrupted mid sentence by a small child running up to Levi, jumping into his arms and sticking his tongue out as far as it would go.

Eren could make out the child had messy ginger hair and big brown eyes; he was followed by a woman of the same colouring. It was hard to tell under all that winter clothing. Levi sat the child on his hip and kissed his hair.   
“Hello squirt,” Levi turned towards the woman, who Eren assumed was the child’s mother. Was this his wife?  
“Hello Levi, your run looked good today. Squirt wanted to show you where he bit his tongue this morning, it was bleeding and everything!” The woman laughed, but then noticed Eren’s presence.  
“Oh, who’s this?” the woman gestured to him.  
“This is Eren, bobsledder from Shiganshina,” the woman’s face momentarily looked shocked before shaking Eren’s hand.  
“Eren, this is Petra Bozard and her son Mordechai,” Eren took a moment to register the name, Bozard was the name of Levi’s teammate. This must be the wife and child Sasha was talking about. Eren felt simultaneous relieved that Levi was single and bad that Petra was a widow.   
“Nice to meet you,” Eren checked his watch and frowned. He was meant to be at a team lunch in five minutes.   
“I’ll have to speak later Levi. It was nice to meet you Petra and Mordechai. Oh, Levi, I hope you meant what you said about my offer,” he ran in the opposite direction before Levi could reply.

That night Eren was already already ten minutes late for the dinner as he burst through the door of the restaurant. A quick scan of the room revealed the man he was looking for sat at a secluded table in the corner. A small candle was set on the surface and the man himself was looking over the menu. Eren swallowed nervously before approaching.   
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Eren took a seat and Levi put down his menu.  
“No worries.” The waiter approached and they ordered quickly, Levi ordering for Eren as to avoid anything that may even remotely trigger the doping test. Better be safe than sorry.

It was about halfway into dinner when Eren thought he should get a little braver. He looked at Levi, who was picking at some bread and balsamic vinegar. He must have sensed he was being stared at. He looked up.  
“What are you staring at?” Eren leant his chin on his hand.  
“Did anyone ever tell you you have beautiful eyes?” Levi almost choked on his bread, and Eren laughed. The nerve of this guy!  
“Funnily enough, no.” Eren set his arms on the table and leant his chin on them, blinking those big green eyes. Levi was suddenly reminded of a puppy. A six foot something puppy. 

The meal continued and they talked about menial things like their training and friends. Eren told him about the time he put a snowball down Jean’s trousers and he got literal blue balls, Levi had to admit he found that funny but he hid his laughter well. In contrast Levi told Eren about the time he had accidently glued his coach, Erwin, to his board and Eren almost wet himself with laughter, upsetting some patrons on the surrounding tables. They really began to open up to each other, but before they knew it the meal was over and it was time to head back to their hotels.  
“So, I guess I’ll see you later then?” Eren rocked back and forth on his toes to release his awkward energy.  
“Yeah,” Levi crossed his arms over his chest, a defensive action Levi did by habit when he felt emotion taking over him. It didn’t help when Eren leaned over and pressed a small kiss to his cheek.  
“See you then.” When Eren was gone Levi pressed a gloved hand to his cheek. Did that really just happen? Levi came to terms with the night and almost cursed himself when he felt the dry cleaning ticket still in his pocket exactly where he left it. 

The hardest part of the whole night was putting up with Hanji firing questions at him when he got home. Levi stripped himself of his coat, gloves and hat and immediately flopped onto the couch and held a pillow to his chest, an uncomfortably warm feeling welling up inside him.   
“So the date went well then?” Hanji smiled and fluffed Levi’s hair.   
“It wasn’t a date!” Levi was beginning to worry about himself. He didn’t want this feeling for the bobsledder, Levi knew it was a dangerous sensation. Dammit, this affection for the boy was going to lead him nowhere. He just had to question himself over and over. Why does he do this to himself? He tried so hard not to feel anything since the accident… but this guy from Shiganshina had broken down those carefully constructed walls with one smile and a dry cleaning bill. He even forgot his cleaning and that became a sure sign that yep, he was not in a fit frame of mind.

 

The nights following went quickly and the day of competition was soon upon both Eren and Levi. They had exchanged texts over the days after their dinner and they had innocently flirted back and fourth. Eren had awoken early on race morning due to Levi’s race being early in the day. He accidently woke Armin up on the way out as he tripped over his own helmet. Armin blinked his eyes open before regarding him.  
“Hey, are you nervous? You wouldn’t be up so early otherwise,” Armin leaned on his elbow.   
“I’m going to watch the skeleton,” Eren hoped that would be the end of the conversation, but Armin was too clever for that.  
“Oh, it’s because Levi’s competing isn’t it?” Armin’s face split into a smug grin.  
“No! I just want to see it!”   
“Sure you do. Keep it in your trousers, Eren,” with rolled eyes Eren left for the track to see Levi’s race.

He pushed to the front of the crowd where he saw the athlete’s lineup. He waved at Levi with a bright smile. He was dressed in a black skinsuit that was clearly designed like a second skin. It moulded to every dip of his figure for clean aerodynamics all topped off with his helmet that had overlapping wings on it. Levi saw Eren in the crowd and waved back discreetly. Someone must have seen it because Eren saw the television cameras turn to him and he shied away. He could hear the commentators introducing him as a newcomer to the bobsleigh but they did not know his relation to Levi. Levi was the first slider so he approached the ice. Levi’s run began, he kissed his sled before making his way onto track and sprinting his start. 

Eren cheered and whooped him all the way down. He heard the commentators over the cheering of the crowd saying how his talent really only lay in bobsled and they highlighted the tragedy of his accident. If he was more talented in the bobsleigh, then he was a genius for the skeleton! He flew down the track with the grace and elegance of a swan. Before Eren knew it Levi was finished and top of the leaderboard. As he came back to the top of the run Levi leaned over the barrier and wrapped arms around Eren’s neck and for a second Eren was too shocked to do anything. Eren could feel the cameras on him and people talking but he hugged Levi back and whispered in his ear.  
“Second dinner an option?”   
“Only if you win gold,” Levi walked away stretching his arms over his head and chatting to his coach. Only half an hour later Levi had gold… and Eren couldn’t be prouder.

It was clear by the way they looked at each other that something special had been established over the past week. Something that neither of the two parties could explain. Eren’s heart went out to Levi and Levi, although still scared about this feeling he hadn’t experienced in years, accepted that Eren Jaeger was no ordinary man. He was the one who Levi let in. The one he knew he could instinctively trust, the one who made him feel again. Eren snuck back into the changing room after the race and leaned into Levi, only to be met by a hand pressed to his face.  
“Make me proud, Jaeger, then you can have your reward,” Now with a clear goal, Eren could zero in his objective. He would make Levi proud and most certainly enjoy his reward.

The afternoon came and Eren was totally focused as he pulled his goggles over his eyes, ready for his run. He took a nod at each of his teammates and they were ready. Eren felt the familiar feel of metal under his gloves as ‘The Titan’ clunked onto the ice. The crowd cheered and waved flags and the nation watched in anticipation. Adrenaline thrummed through his veins, but now was not a time for nerves. His team rocked in unison and the sprint begun. Levi watched anxiously from the side and snuck a look at the clock. 5.9 seconds was a start time any team could live with. He knew Eren could feel the cold air rush past him and the G- force press his goggles into his face. His hands would be steady on the driving mechanism, and his mind clear. It was only then Levi saw something wrong. As the sleigh progressed the front right blade was slipping and sliding all over the place and he could see Eren’s control slipping away from him. The speed picked up and so did the instability. No, this couldn’t happen! Not again! The corner was approaching at one hundred miles an hour and it was far too late to stop it. 

It happened in a split second. The sled hit the corner and upturned and the team were thrown around like rag dolls. Screams erupted from the crowd. The sled skidded along the track before coming to a halt on a straight. Levi’s world went into slow motion and before Hanji could stop him he was on the track. The orange overalls of the marshalls not far behind him. Jean, Connie and Armin slipped out of the sled, none of them hurt, but Eren remained still. Levi gently pulled him out the sled and took his helmet off, he supported his head as he cradled him, not unlike a child. Levi could feel his breathing quicken and his face flush as he spoke to himself.  
“Please, Eren. Wake up, wake up!”

To everyone’s relief Eren began to stir and Levi saw his vision try to correct itself.   
“Eren, are you okay?” Levi brushed Eren’s hair out of his eyes and looked him over. No blood, no protruding bones. Eren picked his head up off Levi’s arms, his voice rasped out, obviously shaken, and the crowd was silent in suspense.  
“I know I didn’t win gold but can we still do dinner?” Levi found it remarkable that this idiot had just crashed into a solid wall at one hundred miles an hour on solid ice and that was the first thing that comes to his mind.  
“Eren, I thought I just lost you and you’re asking me out for dinner,” Levi shook his head in disbelief and then did something shocking.

Eren’s eyes widened as Levi’s face broke into a relieved smile. A real, genuine smile. The crowd gasped, just as shocked as he was. Levi Ackerman- the man who hadn’t smiled since a great tragedy just revealed his first smile since to Eren Jaeger, a newbie bobsledder at the games. Eren didn’t hear the commentary or see the cameras when he slipped a hand into Levi’s hair and kissed him as a cheer erupted behind them.

Of course it was all over the headlines the next day. The front page of the newspaper was not the photo of the gold medal winners, ‘The Colossal’, but of Eren looking adoringly at a smiling Levi. When the closing ceremony came they had been front and centre in the media. They became the biggest gossip news since that other couple who competed for Japan and Australia in the swimming, who kissed on the podium in the Olympics of 2012. Everyone wanted to hear their story. Life couldn’t get better and they were both all too excited for the next dinner they got. 

Four years later Eren looked down the icy chute with immense focus. His eyes narrowed in total concentration just like the Olympics before, except this time there was something different. Levi was competing in the skeleton once again, but Eren had convinced him to go down the run in the sled. Levi still didn’t trust himself in the driver’s seat but Eren was happy that these baby steps had been made. It shot a spark down his spine as they were gently nudged down the track. Eren made it to the bottom without a hitch but could almost taste the nervous energy coming off of Levi. When Eren hopped out the sled Levi followed briskly, still slightly shaking.   
“Well done,” Eren said, pulling him into his arms with a kiss to his forehead.

That next Olympics was a year of successes. Levi bagged himself a silver (only missing out on gold by an eighth of a second) and Eren finally got his gold. Sasha and Connie were finally together and his team were hyped for the new competition. Mikasa won the luge event by a country mile, Hanji drank herself silly on the celebration wine and Petra and Mordechai cheered everyone on with their exclusive seats. Eren witnessed Levi come off the podium and make his way through the sea of reporters to the pair. He slipped his medal over his head and onto Mordechai who slouched slightly at the weight.  
“Keep it. Tell your father it’s from Levi,” Petra’s eyes welled up with tears and Mordechai hugged him tightly.

That evening Levi was just about to cuddle up into bed when he felt something crunch in his jacket pocket. He switched the light for a closer inspection and Eren groaned from where he was sleeping. Levi scowled at the tiny piece of paper in his hand.   
“Eren Jaeger, you still owe me a laundry bill!”


End file.
